The BDS exam is on Monday morning - we do 1939-75. I'll let you know what it is. Immigration? or perhaps Women (and the NHS?) Anyone else want to hazard a guess? Oh for the 'good old days' when the topics went in strict rotation - Liberal Reforms, Suffragettes, Home Front and back round again. It's a brave 'new' world in BDS 39-75!

I'm feeling queasy about Monday. It really is the exam that tests them not us, but that's what brings on that queasy feeling.

It was on women - again. The last 'balancing question' - 'In the period 1950-1975 opportunities increased for women.'

The first picture I saw when I opened the paper was of children however - I had to control my face. I haven't had a chance to sit down and work through it, but most of my students said that it was more straightforward than the last Women paper, which was set last January, which we'd worked on last week...

I'd given a 75%/25% chance it would be on Immigration/Women so perhaps you'll be right about it being on Immigration, next June.

Thanks for that - any idea when the Germany exam is? Or has it been? Any idea of the topic for that? They are being a bit mean with the rota - maybe it will calm down a bit by summer!HollyS

It was on women - again. The last 'balancing question' - 'In the period 1950-1975 opportunities increased for women.'

The first picture I saw when I opened the paper was of children however - I had to control my face. I haven't had a chance to sit down and work through it, but most of my students said that it was more straightforward than the last Women paper, which was set last January, which we'd worked on last week...

I'd given a 75%/25% chance it would be on Immigration/Women so perhaps you'll be right about it being on Immigration, next June.

I thought that the exams were very fair in January. I thought that the depth study questions and teh cartoons were excellent on the Suffragettes. I half expected the Liberal Reforms, but I hedged my bets and it paid off. I would expect the Liberal Reforms in the summer as a guess as its not been up for two sessions. Failing that, it will be the home front again.

I also thought that the International Relations paper was also very fair. I was caught out by teh fact that the League of Nations Cartoon came up again in question one, along with a question on Manchuria. As for the section on the USA, very fair except for the question on intolerance and the red scare. They seem to be digging around for parts of the syllabus that have not asked questions on before. Whatever next, question on the Second New Deal and the Social Security and the Wagner Act? My lot opted for the New Deal
questions.

All in all, a reasonable set of exams. My compliments to OCR and Ben Walsh fro a job well done!

Roy
PS I've stopped predicting teh exams on line for fear of being quoted in the national press.

"Men are disturbed, not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen." - Epictetus

Disagree with January Paper Two being a 'reasonable' exam. The relationship of the Suffragettes with the Labour and Trade Union Movement is not in the spec, nor is it in Walsh's OCR book. To me, it was another example of OCR moving the goalposts strangely and another reason why our school is not using OCR for our current year 10.

THe Paper 2 was much more difficult than usual with some very lengthy sources. Many of the sources were inaccessible for the very weakest students. And where was the message of the cartoon/poster question which usually eases studentes into Paper 2?

Hummm I could point to loads of suffragette cartoons about the shadow of poverty hanging over working women who were denied the vote. Its covered in other OCR sponsored text books and in my AFL packs that you can download from my thread.

In regards to Ben's text book, if you look in the foundation book there is a nice activity that gets students to compare and contrast the Suffragette membership card with a Suffragist Church processesion. I always point to the shoes, clogs, hats, style of dresses for an indication of class. Working class women were clearly up for immediate change as they were suffering directly from the effects of poverty. The average woman was pregnant 28 times in her adult life, miscarried about half her children and then lost about 50% + of her children before the age of five. They were a bit upset and wanted change.

The guidance from OCR has also stressed that there would be greater overlap between exams so in a year when we were expecting Liberal Reforms / Suffragettes you could almost put money on the fact that the economic hardships facing women would come up. I hate to predict these things as I get quoted in the press, but this summer's exam should be on the Home Front with an emphasis on how effective was DORA or the role of women in the FWW. Failing that, I would expect something on the Liberal Reforms with a strong emphasis on how successful they were at tackling poverty. For example, national Insurrance didn't cover all trades or teh persons family.

I always tell my kids about how my Great Grandmother died of an apendistus because my Great Grandfather was to afraid to send for the doctor. Her 7 kids stood around the bed and said goodbye, when the doctor finally arrived it had burst and it was too late. My Gran was only 6 at the time and she never forgot. 5 years ago my brother was in the USA when teh same thing happened. He turned 18 whilst travelling on my Dads holiday insurrance and wasn't covered. My sister had to get her credit card out. 3 days in hospital cost £30,000! You don't appreciate what you've got until the Tories take it away from you!

Kind Regards

Roy

Edited by Roy Huggins, 28 January 2012 - 01:44 PM.

"Men are disturbed, not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen." - Epictetus

Surely a lengthier set of written sources allows students to select more evidence from them- this in turn, provides a wide range of responses. And this is a depth study; it needs to be looked at in depth as a whole topic and not just in 3 unrelated chunks of history. Message of the source question? Maybe its absence is lamented but none of the questions are taxing, if the pupils try and answer the question. I think the days of trying to second-guessing the exam topic are numbered.

I sort of agree with both views - ever on the fence. Some sources were long but I gave mine highlighters to pick out important words and phrases for tone etc. This really helped them focus on reading the sources carefully. We have covered poverty and especially the issue of women and poverty. The topic of women and work is covered as well. They understood the views of the Labour Party towards womens' suffrage.
Mine were thrown a bit by the lack of a what is the message question and they did find some of the language challening but they had a real good go. I have a very mixed bunch whose targets vary from A to G.
I think Roy is right that we're likely to face more crossover topics that take information from all three possible areas.
Lastly I too have my family stories about poverty which fit in with Rowntree pretty well. My gt grandfather died leaving his wife and 6 children. They were thrown out of their tied cottage and had to go to S.Wales to stay with my gt grandmother's sister. In the end my grandfather and his younger brother were put in a home because she couldn't afford to keep them. I ahve all the correspondence from the vicar to the home saying what a good woman she is. My granddad was there 7 years without seeing his family. On my father's side his grandmother had over 20 births and 10 survived to be adults. She was illegitimate herself and got pregnant and married at 17. Her life had a tragic end as well and I have the inquest report which reveals how tough life was. I have photos and the kids really respond to these true life stories.
I don't think we can take anything for granted anymore with these papers.

Surely a lengthier set of written sources allows students to select more evidence from them- this in turn, provides a wide range of responses. And this is a depth study; it needs to be looked at in depth as a whole topic and not just in 3 unrelated chunks of history. Message of the source question? Maybe its absence is lamented but none of the questions are taxing, if the pupils try and answer the question. I think the days of trying to second-guessing the exam topic are numbered.

I much prefer shorter sources and lots of pictures for my students! I totally agree, its becoming increasingly difficult top second guess whats coming up in the summer, but I'd be surprised if it was the Home Front or the Suffragettes again in the next round of exams!

Roy

Edited by Roy Huggins, 30 January 2012 - 07:17 PM.

"Men are disturbed, not by the things that happen, but by their opinion of the things that happen." - Epictetus

I've been trying to download the January 2012 International Relations paper from OCR's Interchange. I can't open the zip! Anyone else had problems?

I have had a trawl through the Markscheme however, so can get everything from that bar the sources.

We do 'USA 1945-75 Land of Freedom?' Some of the questions are mean and I don't think one of them is on material on the syllabus.

a 'Mean question'

[b]Explain why the 1957 Civil Rights Act was important.

I'd suggest that this would be fairly taxing for an A level student to 'milk' 2 developed explanations out of an Act that 'was a start but didn't go far enough.' Perhaps my in built anti Republican biased teaching has been found out, but I know my lot would have found a great deal more to say about why the 1957 and 1960 Civil Rights Acts were not that important.

a 'Not sure this is on the OCR syllabus' query

4c Why do you think this picture was published? (From the markscheme, I'm assuming it's a photo of a lunch counter sit in - perhaps Greensborough)

Sit ins aren't specifically on the syllabus - 'methods used by MLK' are - sit ins weren't his idea. 'Freedom Summer' is, but that's Mississippi etc. When you're up against the clock to complete this course, some things, that don't appear on the syllabus get missed out. Well they do in my classroom! If my students had been sitting this January exam, this would have severely wobbled them.

Is it too late to enter a query to OCR, I've never done it before. Is it even worth it.

The British Depth Study 1939-75 was picky picky picky too.

I have always calmed my lot by emphasising OCR's positive marking approach, but I am now a despondent correspondent.